The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) has revised the operating hours for the Kenya Electronic Payment and Settlement System (KEPSS) from the current 8am to 4.30pm, to a new schedule that will run between 7am and 7pm from July 1, 2025, as the apex bank seeks to align with global practices.
KEPSS, which runs the real-time gross settlement system hosted by the CBK, went live in July 2005 as a strategy to help businesses cut the cost of handling cash and curb fraud incidents involving high-value cheques.
The KEPSS platform interconnects commercial banks to facilitate real-time fund transfers, helping the sector regulator reduce spending on currency printing.
CBK says the new schedule will hold true on all business days with the exception of public holidays and weekends.
“This strategic enhancement is aimed at improving efficiency, accessibility, and resilience of Kenya’s payments ecosystem. By enabling earlier initiation and later completion of large-value and sensitive payments, this move will support the country’s transition towards a 24/7 digital economy,” the CBK said.
The adjustment comes just a week after Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi, in his national budget address to Parliament last Thursday, said the KEPSS would be transitioning to a 24/7 settlement capability at the start of the upcoming financial year.
“This will support round-the-clock trade, enable faster clearing of government payments, facilitate real-time business-to-business transactions and provide greater flexibility for consumers and financial institutions,” said Mr Mbadi.
Latest disclosures show that during the 12 months ended August 2024, KEPSS processed over 5.3 million transactions valued at more than Sh45 trillion, for local currency transactions alone.
CBK says that the extension in operating hours will bridge the gap between traditional banking hours and the demands of a modern economy, facilitating seamless transactions across time zones and increasing the competitiveness of the country as a regional financial hub.
“By expanding the time window for settlements, CBK reinforces its commitment to greater financial inclusion, allowing more individuals and entities to engage in the formal financial system with ease,” said the apex bank.
The CBK migrated the KEPSS platform to new global standards dubbed ISO 20022 message standards in April 2023, before obtaining certification late last year, in a move geared towards transforming the exchange of financial messages through embedding of richer data on the transfers as well as enhancing accuracy of vetting trading parties.
